Blog | Former Myrtle Beach star leads No. 1 USC onto center stage of major women’s college basketball
Over the past couple of years, Everett Golson, who led Myrtle Beach High School to multiple state championships in football, and one in basketball, has made the most headlines for former Myrtle Beach area graduates in college sports.
He helped lead Notre Dame University to the national title game a few years ago, and early this season, after returning after a year-long academic suspension, played well enough to make a few Heisman Trophy watch lists before fading at the end of the season and sharing time at quarterback with another player.
Tonight, another recent Myrtle Beach grad, who also helped the school win multiple state titles, takes center stage, Khadijah Sessions. She is the starting point guard for the No. 1 ranked University of South Carolina Gamecocks and will play a critical role in the game against perennial juggernaut, the University of Connecticut. It is being televised nationally on ESPN2 at 8 p.m.
It is the kind of game that used to involve UCONN and Tennessee, or UCONN and Notre Dame, or UCONN and Stanford, or UCONN and Baylor.
That USC is part of such a game illustrates how high the program has climbed into rarified air.
USC’s baseball team has been here before, with a couple of national championships. A victory tonight will put the women’s program on a trajectory not even the Steve Spurrier-led football has experienced, especially if they follow it up with a deep run in March.
Here is how one outlet described the importance of Sessions earlier this year:
Her shooting is also the best it’s been since she arrived, but the ball-handling is what’s keeping her on the floor. Call it the talent at backup, call it the harsh memory of that rough night in Stanford – Sessions is the motor of the nation’s No. 1 team.
“I gained confidence in a lot of areas,” Sessions said on Wednesday, a day before Charlotte came to Columbia for an 8 p.m. game. “One of them was assists. Finding my post players, finding the open man at all times. Making smart decisions because I always have the ball in my hands.”
Sessions didn’t start the opener, Staley trying different rotations, but has been a mainstay since. She’s never told Sessions that the job is up for grabs, but she’s never told her it’s hers to lose. The way Sessions kept working for the role, even as a supposed incumbent, was impressive enough.
“I think it’s a great statistic,” Staley said. “As a point guard, you want to make sure you’re protecting the ball. I’m happy for Khadijah. She’s been doing a tremendous job.”
Sessions keeps her mind off the glowing stats and concentrates on each possession. She knows how quickly it can spiral if she begins to play too fast.
“We try to stay calm and poised at all times,” she said. “Whether me being in the starting lineup or not, I had the same role and the same job – to lead this team.”
I don’t know where her immense talent will take her, but after watching her play in high school, I knew a demanding coach like Hall of Famer Dawn Staley was just the kind of tough Sessions needed.
And she’ll need every bit of it tonight.
I’m looking forward to her playing well.
This story was originally published February 9, 2015 at 3:52 PM with the headline "Blog | Former Myrtle Beach star leads No. 1 USC onto center stage of major women’s college basketball."